1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a showcase which comprises an electric heater in a rack for displaying commercial goods.
2. Description of the Related Art
The showcase of this type has conventionally been installed in a store such as a supermarket or a convenience store, and used for displaying and selling commercial goods. Especially, a hot drink sale showcase for warming and selling canned drinks or plastic-bottled drinks comprises, for example, a display room surrounded with transparent glass. A plurality of racks are installed in the display room, and commercial goods are displayed on the racks. A front surface or front and rear surfaces of the display room are freely opened/closed by a door made of transparent glass, and the rack is fixed to rack supporting columns erected at four corners of the display room. In the display room, cold air heat-exchanged with a cooler disposed in a lower part is circulated to set a predetermined refrigeration temperature.
While the lower part of the display room is a usual net rack, a rack of an upper part is made of a metal plate, and an electric heater is mounted thereto. In the case of warming commercial goods on the rack of the upper part, a system has been employed which partitions a portion above the rack from the display room below, conducts electricity to the electric heater in a state of blocking the circulation of cold air, and heats the entire metal rack to warm commercial goods on the rack (ex., Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2003-194453 and 2003-250675).
However, the entire rack for warming has conventionally been assembled by using metal plates, causing problems of heavy weight and costs. Additionally, burdensome work has been necessary for processing a leader line of the electric heater.